[1] He was first elected to seat 88 in 2003 and served as the House Minority Leader from 2017 to 2019, succeeded by Representative Tom Sawyer as of January 14, 2019.
He was elected to state House seat 88 in 2002, defeating Republican Hoyt Hillman and Libertarian David Moffett.
Ward said "The great experiment was a complete and utter failure that nearly bankrupted our state...You put that on steroids and pass it around the country.
He spoke to the Kansas Legislative Post Audit Committee on July 29, 2015: “In the last couple of years, I’ve been getting more and more and more concerns presented to me about supervision not being done, placements being changed fairly radically quickly, and care plans not being followed through with.
He argued that a larger investment was required to make up for years of “chronic underfunding” and adhere to the Kansas Supreme Court’s ruling that education funding in the state is inadequate and inequitable: “It’s frustrating.
"[18] During the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, Ward said he would reinstate an executive order that protects LGBT state workers from discrimination (which was originally signed by Gov.
He has worked to repeal the Personal and Family Protection Act, which allows concealed firearms on the campuses of public universities in the state.
[20] He is opposed to arming K-12 teachers, while he supports raising the minimum age for semi-automatic firearm purchases to 21, implementing comprehensive background checks for all gun buyers, preventing people with domestic violence or other violent crime convictions from possessing or purchasing firearms, and banning bump stocks in Kansas.